


seasons; romance

by SerpentineJ



Category: DAYS (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, i dont even know what to tag this as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 04:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9418964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerpentineJ/pseuds/SerpentineJ
Summary: A year of shibakimi romance. Moods are dictated by the weather, sometimes.





	

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: things i can only admit in my author's notes: why do i write? why is there a dense weight on my collarbone? not even i know... i hate this feeling. it's the only one i hate.
> 
> warning: this is dumb. written to the song [romance by cheeze.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhYhfnyAvUY) maybe give it a listen while you read. it'll help set the tone.

**act i: summer**

Cicadas.

The air is warm, slightly humid, sticking to everything it touches. Streetlamps buzz in tune with the insect songs, lights flickering down damp-feeling alleys, and the sky is purple-blue, like a galaxy of a bruise.

Sweat drips down Kimishita's nose.

He dribbles the soccer ball between his feet again, footwork light, quick, and pops it in the air to catch it again with the top of his foot. His control is impeccable, he knows, but he doesn't stop. His tank top sticks to the wetness across his shoulders and in the small of his back.

"Kimishita."

A voice.

Not one out of place- the other player does have reason to be around here, especially during summer break, but the fact that he's been in the same area, seen Kimishita, and deigned to come over and talk to him makes him look around and up, eyes narrowed.

"Kiichi." He says, the same measured, even tone.

Ooshiba stops in front of him, hands in the pockets of his shorts. He's sweating a little, dampness collecting at his temples and flushing his cheeks. They watch each other in silence for a moment, neither willing to test the waters first.

The cicadas keep humming, a patterned, monotone buzz.

"What?" Kimishita finally starts again, beginning to get irritated. "Did you come up to me just to stare?"

Ooshiba's head turns, just a tiny fraction but Kimishita's known him for years, can read him like a book. He's always so easy to read, as though he's emitting his feelings on the same wavelength as those cicada's chirpings.

"Want to play?" He asks, looking Kimishita back in the eye, glancing at the ball trapped under his foot.

Kimishita processes.

"...play." He says, eyebrows tensing just a fraction. "With me."

Ooshiba doesn't blush. He sticks his nose in the air.

"It's almost dark." He replies, and Kimishita restrains the urge to respond sarcastically. "You shouldn't be playing too late, anyways."

Kimishita almost smiles. 

"What's brought this on?" He asks, shifting but never letting his gaze waver. 

Ooshiba stares at him, hands still in his pockets. His shorts are green, and his shirt is white, a stark contrast to the dim, muted shadows of the street behind him.

"I need a vice captain." He answers, finally, meeting Kimishita's honest inquiry head on with an honest answer. He doesn't say anything about it having to be him, but Kimishita understands, and drops his head to hide his chuckle.

Ooshiba frowns down at the unusual display- concerned? upset at being taken lightly? childish?- but Kimishita looks back up, letting his grin creep a little bit of the way back up his face.

"Fine." He challenges, kicking the ball over to Ooshiba, who stops it with his foot. "If you can keep up, Kiichi."

Ooshiba almost smirks back.

**act ii: fall**

Fall brings color.

The best kind of autumn day- the leaves light, crisp, and the air is cool against exposed skin. Ooshiba straighens his collar and glances at the pink tips of his fingers.

Kimishita is waiting for him outside the entrance to the school.

"Took you long enough." He sighs when Ooshiba draws within hearing distance, watching his face with examination-table eyes. "Was it difficult, coming to school without your driver?"

Ooshiba grits his teeth, because this guy knows how to get him riled up sometimes, but pushes it back down, no matter how much he wants to crease the crisply pressed front of Kimshita's uniform with his fingers. He smooths his palm against his slacks instead.

"Funny." He replies instead, watching Kimishita from the corner of his eye, starting down the walk that leaves . "You should be careful, the underclassmen won't be scared of you if you keep being so funny."

Sarcasm drips off his words, but they're quickly crisped by the cool air and flutter away like brightly colored leaves.

"They'll be scared of me." Kimishita scoffs, as though he can't imagine anything different. Their footsteps carry through the air more clearly than usual. Ooshiba's hand twitches, as though beginning a motion, even though he hasn't thought of one to make.

There's a tone to his voice, though, that makes Ooshiba's breath stop in his chest- something like hunger. Kimishita wants to win. Kimishita... wants to win.

Of course Kimishita wants to win.

"We're going to win." Ooshiba says.

 

**act iii: winter**

Kimishita shivers.

It's freezing. He can see his breath hang in the air when he exhales. Black ice is slick and slippery in patches on the ground, glinting in the light from nearby streetlamps. He and Ooshiba are seated on a bench in a bus stop, waiting for for the next arrival. Snow is falling from the grey-black sky outside, and it's in Kimishita's hair and scarf, delicate specks of white that catch the light and melt warmly.

Ooshiba glances over at him.

"Cold?" He asks.

"No shit." Kimishita grumbles, sticking his hands in his pockets. Ooshiba exhales, watches the water vapor dissolve into the air above him, and shrugs the shoulders of his jacket to give him enough margin to wrap his arm around Kimishita's shoulders.

The other boy looks up at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you doing?" He asks, looking less angry, like he might have two months ago, and more- taken aback, confused, a tint of suspicious.

Ooshiba feels blood rise to his cheeks but doesn't pull away. He doesn't respond, either, and after a moment, Kimishita leans slightly into him, and stops shivering.

"You should have brought a thicker coat." Ooshiba murmurs, breath gusting out of him to warm the air around him by the smallest fraction of a degree, and Kimishita sighs and sinks deeper into his coat.

"I don't need one." He mumbles. "Didn't think we'd miss the bus."

Ooshiba snickers.

"You know-it-all." He slides his arm more comfortably in position, and Kimishita lets out the tiniest sigh. The snow is still falling outside, and his breath still hangs in the air, but somehow it feels a sliver warmer.

 

**act iv: spring**

Cherry blossoms.

Spring wind is warm, breezing through the soccer pitch, bringing with it renewed enthusiasm- Kimishita and Ooshiba stand in the middle of the field, back to back, and pink and green bloom vividly around them. The air has a tint of pollen. Every inhale sends a tiny thrill, a tiny boost in spirit and hope and the possibility of a chance, through them.

"This is our year, I guess." Kimishita smiles. It's warmer than the spring sun in the hazy sky.

Ooshiba laughs, freely.

"Yeah." He replies, pressing back the tiniest bit, to feel the other player solidly there.

There's a moment of silence, tempered only by the environment.

"Do you remember," Ooshiba starts, not glancing back, "when we first met?"

Kimishita scoffs.

"When you almost hit me with your car?" He asks. "Yeah, I remember that."

Ooshiba shakes his head, smiling.

"Nah." He says. "I saw you before that."

Kimishita does look around now- Ooshiba is staring out at the green, green expanse of land that stretches out before him, an unusual feeling of contented optimism rising in his chest.

"Eh?" Kimishita glances up at him. "Before?"

Ooshiba turns and looks at him.

"I saw you play." He confesses, something warm quirking his lips, and it's strange that he looks so composed. Maybe it's the reality of being third-years settling in. "On the field, before the first practice."

Kimishita blinks, and chuckes incredulously.

"Hah." He breathes. "Figures."

Ooshiba laughs out loud, cheerfully, happily, and for a moment it's like he embodies the bright gleam of springtime- Kimishita can't look away, and doubly so when Ooshiba leans down and kisses him, nothing but joy in the act. It feels like a flood of sunlight through his bloodstream. He kisses back.

When they part, softly, he grins.

Seiseki's new team- their team- is emerging from the locker room.

"Ready?" Kimishita gestures at them, cheeks pink, smiling. It's the happiest he's been in a while.

Ooshiba exhales, giddiness springing up in him like an overflowing well.

"Ready." He affirms, watching their underclassmen from across the pitch.

 

**act v: coda**

"What are Kimishita-senpai and Ooshiba-senpai talking about?" Tsukamoto asks, shielding his eyes with his hand, pausing in his warmup stretches to peer at the aforementioned characters standing in the middle of the pitch.

Kurusu flicks him in the arm.

"Probably captain stuff." He grouses. "Keep stretching! You don't want to get hurt on the first day back, idiot!"

Kazama laughs and ruffles both boys' hair- Kurusu jumps up with an indignant squawk, running his fingers back upwards through his hair, and Tsukamoto laughs happily.

"Don't think about it too much!" Kazama grins, hair like sunshine. "It's a great day, isn't it?"

 

**act vi: coda ii**

"Taira." Mizuki tightens the laces on his cleats and stands back up. "The opponent we're facing today-"

Taira cuts him off, tying back his hair.

"I know." He says, glancing at his teammate. "He's a tough one. I heard he stole a starting position within three months."

Mizuki nods silently.

When they walk out, the grandstands cheer uproarously.

Across the field, Mizuki's attention focuses on one specifically messy head of hair.

Indou Kaoru notices, and waves.

Mizuki turns away and slips on his black gloves, preparing for the match to come.

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: it's 3 am. find me on [tumblr.](http://serpentinej.tumblr.com) join the [shibakimi chat!](https://discord.gg/CpK2RHv)


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